Can-opener.



P. J. WESOLOWSKI.

CAN OPENER. APPLIQATION FILED MAY 28, 1910.

1,043,650, Patented Nov. 5, 1912.

COLUMBIA PLANOGRAPH c0., wASHINuTON. DIC.

PETER J. WES OLOWSKI, 0F DETROIT, MICHIGAN.

CAN-OPENER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 5,1912.

Application filed May as, 1910.. Serial No. 563,903.

To aZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, PETER J. WnsoLowsKi, a citizen of the United States of America, residing at Detroit, in the county of Wayne and State of Michigan, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Can- Openers, of which the following is a specification, reference being had therein to the accompanying drawings.

The invention relates to a device for removing the heads from tin cans, and consists in the novel and simple formation thereof, and in a construction capable of use in connection with cans of different forms, the polygonal type as well as the round.

The invention further consists in the peculiar arrangement and combination of parts, and in certain details of construction as will be hereinafter described and claimed.

In the drawings illustrating the invention,-Figure 1 is a sectional perspective view of the opener; Fig. 2 is a cross section taken on line m-m of Fig. 1; and Fig. 3 is a detached perspective view of the cutter and guide.

In the drawings thus briefly described, A represents the handle section of the device, and B the body portion formed in this instance of metal suitably secured to the handle and having formed longitudinally therein a slot C. At the extremity of the body is the usual prong D for centering the instrument, and formed upon the body side near the handle is a hook section E adapted for use in the removal of bottle caps.

Mounted upon the body for free longitudinal travel within the slot thereof is the cutter F. In construction, it comprises a triangular-shaped blade or knife G and a guide II adjoining the knife and spaced therefrom, these two members being preferably formed from a single piece of metal, as shown in Fig. 3. A washer, as I, separates the cutter and guide from the lower face of the body, and a similar washer J is applied to the upper face of the'body, a headed bolt K extending through the washers and connecting with the cutter as shown, the parts being so united as to permit free travel of the head within the slot.

For the purpose of facilitating the travel of the cutter upon the can body, a cross member L in the form of a pin 1s provided intermediate the cutter and guide, as plainly shown in Fig. 2, this pin during the operation of cutting resting upon the upper can edge, forming a bearing for the instrument.

In practice, the prong is inserted substan tially in the center of the can head that is to be removed; the cutter head is shifted in the slot until the guide member contacts with the exterior of the can, the cutting blade being then in a position for insertion within the head near the can edge; the cutter is then driven within the metal and the instrument rotated, which operation completely cuts out the head from the can top.

It will be obvious from the foregoing description of the device that by reason of the free longitudinal travel and rotary movement the cutter has within the slotted body it will readily follow the external contour of the can, irrespective of the form thereof, whether round or polygonal, the cutter traveling always near the inclosing wall, so as to remove a maximum portion of the head.

When it is desired to use the instrument for extracting bottle closures or caps, the edge of the body is placed against the cap, with the hook E beneath the cap edge, and the instrument tilted upon the opposite portion of the bottle neck as a fulcrum, this movement extracting the closure.

What I claim as my invention is,-

1. A can opener, composed of an elongated slotted body member, a head comprising spaced washers positioned upon opposite sides of the slotted body, and a cylindrical neck arranged within the body slot for free rotary and endwise movement therein and extending through the washers, a combined cutter and guide having a horizontal portion fixedly secured to the neck section against relative movement, and spaced projections forming the cutter and guide extending downward from the horizontal portion and formed integral therewith, and a pin intermediate the projections forming a bearing for engaging the edge of the can.

2. In a can opener, a combined cutter and guide formed from a single piece of metal comprising a horizontal portion having its opposite ends terminating in spaced down- In testimony whereof I afiix my signature wardly-extending projegtiolns forming drein presence of two Witnesses.

s ect-ively the cutter an t e 'uide, an a 1 p in arranged adjacent the uppe i' end of said PETER WEbOLOWSKI' T projections and extending between the lat- Witnesses:

ter, said pin forming a bearing for engaging J AMES P. BARRY,

the edge of the can. AUBREY PULLEYBLANK.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, I). G. 

